Developmental biology is the study of the process by which animals and plants grow and develop. Developmental biology also encompasses the biology of regeneration, asexual reproduction, metamorphosis, and the growth and differentiation of stem cells in the adult organism.
Morphogenesis is the biological process that causes a cell, tissue or organism to develop its shape. It is one of three fundamental aspects of developmental biology along with the control of tissue growth and patterning of cellular differentiation.
The development of the nervous system, or neural development (neurodevelopment), refers to the processes that generate, shape, and reshape the nervous system of animals, from the earliest stages of embryonic development to adulthood. The field of neural development draws on both neuroscience and developmental biology to describe and provide insight into the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which complex nervous systems develop, from nematodes and fruit flies to mammals.
In the developing chordate, the neural tube is the embryonic precursor to the central nervous system, which is made up of the brain and spinal cord. The neural groove gradually deepens as the neural fold become elevated, and ultimately the folds meet and coalesce in the middle line and convert the groove into the closed neural tube. In humans, neural tube closure usually occurs by the fourth week of pregnancy.
Gastrulation is the stage in the early embryonic development of most animals, during which the blastula, or in mammals the blastocyst, is reorganized into a two-layered or three-layered embryo known as the gastrula. Before gastrulation, the embryo is a continuous epithelial sheet of cells; by the end of gastrulation, the embryo has begun differentiation to establish distinct cell lineages, set up the basic axes of the body, and internalized one or more cell types including the prospective gut.
The ectoderm is one of the three primary germ layers formed in early embryonic development. It is the outermost layer, and is superficial to the mesoderm and endoderm. It emerges and originates from the outer layer of germ cells. The word ectoderm comes from the Greek ektos meaning "outside", and derma meaning "skin".
In the human brain, the diencephalon is a division of the forebrain. It is situated between the telencephalon and the midbrain. The diencephalon has also been known as the tweenbrain in older literature. It consists of structures that are on either side of the third ventricle, including the thalamus, the hypothalamus, the epithalamus and the subthalamus.
A germ layer is a primary layer of cells that forms during embryonic development. The three germ layers in vertebrates are particularly pronounced; however, all eumetazoans produce two or three primary germ layers. Some animals, like cnidarians, produce two germ layers making them diploblastic. Other animals such as bilaterians produce a third layer between these two layers, making them triploblastic. Germ layers eventually give rise to all of an animal's tissues and organs through the process of organogenesis.
Organogenesis is the phase of embryonic development that starts at the end of gastrulation and continues until birth. During organogenesis, the three germ layers formed from gastrulation form the internal organs of the organism.
In developmental biology, animal embryonic development, also known as animal embryogenesis, is the developmental stage of an animal embryo. Embryonic development starts with the fertilization of an egg cell (ovum) by a sperm cell, (spermatozoon). Once fertilized, the ovum becomes a single diploid cell known as a zygote. The zygote undergoes mitotic divisions with no significant growth and cellular differentiation, leading to development of a multicellular embryo after passing through an organizational checkpoint during mid-embryogenesis. In mammals, the term refers chiefly to the early stages of prenatal development, whereas the terms fetus and fetal development describe later stages.
The lens capsule is a component of the globe of the eye. It is a clear elastic basement membrane similar in composition to other basement membranes in the body. The capsule is very thick basement membraneand the thickness varies in different areas on the lens surface and with the age of the animal. It and is composed of various types of fibers such as collagen IV laminin etc. and these help it stay under constant tension. The capsule is attached to the surrounding eye by numerous suspensory ligaments and in turn suspends the rest of the lens in an appropriate position. As the lens grows throughout life so must the capsule. Due to the shape of the capsule the lens naturally tends towards a rounder or more globular configuration, a shape it must assume for the eye to focus at a near distance. Tension on the capsule is varied to allow the lens to subtly change shape to allow the eye to focus in a process called accommodation.
The neural fold is a structure that arises during neurulation in the embryonic development of both birds and mammals among other organisms. This structure is associated with primary neurulation, meaning that it forms by the coming together of tissue layers, rather than a clustering, and subsequent hollowing out, of individual cells. In humans, the neural folds are responsible for the formation of the anterior end of the neural tube. The neural folds are derived from the neural plate, a preliminary structure consisting of elongated ectoderm cells. The folds give rise to neural crest cells, as well as bringing about the formation of the neural tube.
The optic vesicles project toward the sides of the head, and the peripheral part of each expands to form a hollow bulb, while the proximal part remains narrow and constitutes the optic stalk.
Hyalin is a protein released from the cortical granules of a fertilized animal egg. The released hyalin modifies the extracellular matrix of the fertilized egg to block other sperm from binding to the egg, and is known as the slow-block to polyspermy. All animals have this slow-block mechanism.
In amniote embryonic development, the epiblast is one of two distinct cell layers arising from the inner cell mass in the mammalian blastocyst, or from the blastula in reptiles and birds, the other layer is the hypoblast. It drives the embryo proper through its differentiation into the three primary germ layers, ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm, during gastrulation. The amniotic ectoderm and extraembryonic mesoderm also originate from the epiblast.
Bone morphogenetic protein 4 is a protein that in humans is encoded by BMP4 gene. BMP4 is found on chromosome 14q22-q23.
Eye formation in the human embryo begins at approximately three weeks into embryonic development and continues through the tenth week. Cells from both the mesodermal and the ectodermal tissues contribute to the formation of the eye. Specifically, the eye is derived from the neuroepithelium, surface ectoderm, and the extracellular mesenchyme which consists of both the neural crest and mesoderm.
Otic vesicle, or auditory vesicle, consists of either of the two sac-like invaginations formed and subsequently closed off during embryonic development. It is part of the neural ectoderm, which will develop into the membranous labyrinth of the inner ear. This labyrinth is a continuous epithelium, giving rise to the vestibular system and auditory components of the inner ear. During the earlier stages of embryogenesis, the otic placode invaginates to produce the otic cup. Thereafter, the otic cup closes off, creating the otic vesicle. Once formed, the otic vesicle will reside next to the neural tube medially, and on the lateral side will be paraxial mesoderm. Neural crest cells will migrate rostral and caudal to the placode.
Retinal precursor cells are biological cells that differentiate into the various cell types of the retina during development. In the vertebrate, these retinal cells differentiate into seven cell types, including retinal ganglion cells, amacrine cells, bipolar cells, horizontal cells, rod photoreceptors, cone photoreceptors, and Müller glia cells. During embryogenesis, retinal cells originate from the anterior portion of the neural plate termed the eye field. Eye field cells with a retinal fate express several transcription factor markers including Rx1, Pax6, and Lhx2. The eye field gives rise to the optic vesicle and then to the optic cup. The retina is generated from the precursor cells within the inner layer of the optic cup, as opposed to the retinal pigment epithelium that originate from the outer layer of the optic cup. In general, the developing retina is organized so that the least-committed precursor cells are located in the periphery of the retina, while the committed cells are located in the center of the retina. The differentiation of retinal precursor cells into the mature cell types found in the retina is coordinated in time and space by factors within the cell as well as factors in the environment of the cell. One example of an intrinsic regulator of this process is the transcription factor Ath5. Ath5 expression in retinal progenitor cells biases their differentiation into a retinal ganglion cell fate. An example of an environmental factor is the morphogen sonic hedge hog (Shh). Shh has been shown to repress the differentiation of precursor cells into retinal ganglion cells.
John W. Saunders Jr. was an American scientist whose research in the field of developmental biology and zoology played an integral part in helping to understand how various vertebrate limbs develop. Saunders researched the vertebrate limb and studied the apical ectodermal ridge (AER). This research was critical in recognizing growth factors that are secreted from the AER and are important in assisting the pattern of developing vertebrate limbs.
